Need to tackle 'political pollution': BJP member Ghanshyam Tiwari

New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) BJP Rajya Sabha member Ghanshyam Tiwari on Monday said there is a need to tackle 'political pollution' besides tackling environmental pollution, taking a dig at the Opposition parties.

Initiating a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in the Upper House, Tiwari listed a series of steps taken up by the NDA government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to highlight how it has stepped up efforts to tackle environmental pollution, intensify forest conservation work and increase the number of tigers in India.

"We want to improve the environment, we want to improve air and water quality, but the unfortunate thing is that besides environmental pollution, there is political pollution..." he said.

The 'environmental pollution that is happening politically' is happening repeatedly in the House, Tiwari lamented.

"Political pollution also needs to be tackled," he said, supporting Leader of the House J P Nadda, who had earlier in the day accused the Opposition of indulging in petty politics and creating anarchy.

Nadda made the remarks after the Congress and other Opposition parties sought to disrupt Rajya Sabha proceedings and staged a walkout when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made a suo motu statement on the situation in West Asia.

Noting that one of the biggest causes of environmental pollution is waste, Tiwari took a dig at the Opposition, saying that while the wastes that spread all over cities need to be managed first, the 'waste of corruption' and then the 'waste in politics' also need to be managed.

"Waste is increasing in every sector. We have to tackle this waste through proper management," he said, adding that Prime Minister Modi is very astute in 'managing waste'.

Participating in the discussion, Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla (YSRCP) called for a "structural transformation and restructuring" of the ministry, saying it "operates in thematic silos -- forest versus wildlife versus pollution versus climate change".

"The ministry was last conceptually restructured in 2014 when climate change was added to its name, but no comprehensive strategic review of its mandate, structure or capabilities has been conducted. This also needs to be completely re-looked," he said.

Subhasish Khuntia (BJD) lamented that in the name of development, the environment has been destroyed, citing various examples of Odisha.

BJP's Sumer Singh Solanki highlighted several steps taken by the government to tackle air pollution in cities, which is becoming a cause of concern.

He also highlighted the notable rise in India's tiger population in the last 15 years, attributing it to Project Tiger, among other initiatives.

Medha Vishram Kulkarni (BJP) urged the ministry to organise a training and awareness campaign on the conservation of rivers for children in schools across the country.

Highlighting the issue of noise pollution, he also said that there should be a strict law to check the practice of unnecessary honking observed in India.

Brij Lal (BJP) said the current forest cover in India, including the tree cover, has risen under the present government, whereas the green coverage issue was ignored by the UPA government. PTI RKL RSN HVA